URBAN SPRAWL Californiastyle: Row upon
row of terraced housing crowds the steep
hillsides (below right)of San Diego's
northernsuburbs. Near La Jolla, beams
from a lasershow highlight one of many
gleamingoffice buildings thatform a new
"downtown," 12 miles north of the old. On
a roll for three decades, San Diego has
matched the growth of its populationwith
an equally robust economic expansion.
For many San Diegans, drawn here by
clean airand open roads, such growth
threatens to bringwith it the pollution and
congestion of Los Angeles, which is often
evoked as the ultimate bad example.
Thanks to a coalitionof environmental
groups-one of which is called PreventLos
AngelizationNow-growth has become the
hottest issue in town. Two years ago the
City Council adoptedtemporary measures
to restrainhousing starts, though voters re
jectedfour ballotproposalslast November
that would have curbed new development.
Today much of the energy that was once
spent on suburbandevelopment is being
concentratedin the long-neglected city
center.A powerful catalystfor change in
one of downtown's most dilapidated
districts has been Horton Plaza (below
left), a "wondermall" occupying six and a
half blocks. Much praisedfor its fanciful
architectureand open air,the plaza boasts
two legitimate theaters in addition to a
multiscreencinema.
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